The Neighbors
by moms2398
Summary: Daniel meets the neighbor and her son. Someone mistakes her son for Daniel's. Set sometime Season 4. Brief allusions to Singularity, Touchstone, Shades of Grey, and A Hundred Days not really spoilers. *NOMINATED FOR 2009 BLUE MOON AWARD*
1. Chapter 1

Daniel Jackson was awakened by loud music.

He sat up in his bed, the sheet falling off his bare chest and tried to figure out where the music was coming from. Reaching over to his bedside stand, he found his glasses. He picked up a pair of jeans and pulled them on along with a T-shirt. Then he moved to the balcony of his condo and opened the curtains, and was immediately blinded by the sun. Squinting, he opened the door and stepped out. The music was louder.

He looked around the half wall of the balcony to find the source of "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'" and found, on the balcony next door, a woman folding very small clothes while she moved her hips to the music.

She was probably five and a half feet tall and curvy, with red hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wore a tank top that revealed firm arms, a pair of shorts that revealed strong legs, and no shoes.

"Excuse me!" Daniel called.

She jumped and turned. When she saw him, her eyes widened, then she smiled and waved.

"It's loud!"

She frowned, pointing to her ear and shaking her head. Then she raised her index finger for him to wait, stepped back inside her condo, turned down the music down but not off and came back out.

"Hi!" she smiled, brightly.

"I was sleeping."

Her eyebrows rose, she looked into the condo and then back at him. "Are you aware that it's one in the afternoon?"

Daniel looked at his wrist. No watch. "I'll take your word for it."

She smiled. "Jet-lag?"

"You could say that," he nodded, squinting still.

"Well, I'm sorry I disturbed you. Been there."

He liked her smile. "It's okay." he sighed, with a stretch. "I should be getting up anyway." He looked at the shirt she was folding. "That seems small."

She smiled at it, wistfully, looking at the shirt. "Yeah. My four year old informed me that he isn't a baby anymore, so I cleaned out his closet. I'm packing this stuff for Goodwill." She looked over at him, her blue eyes moist. "Do you have any kids? Expecting? Need baby boy clothes?" She sniffled.

"No, on all counts," he grinned. "Are you okay?"

She gave a self-deprecating smile. "Don't mind me. I cry at Folger's commercials."

Daniel chuckled. "Oh-kay…"

Suddenly, a blond streak emerged from the sliding glass door. "Mom! Mom! You have to see my _room_!"

She knelt down to be eye-level with a cute little boy with sandy blond hair. "I will in a bit, Chase, but Mommy's talking to someone right now."

The boy turned and looked at Daniel. His eyebrows came together over eyes that were the exact color of his mother's. His full lips frowned. "Who are you? What are you doing there?"

Daniel smiled. "I'm Daniel Jackson. Who are you?"

Chase looked at his mother, who nodded. "I'm Chase Robert McReynolds. I live here. Do you live there?"

Daniel nodded. "Yes, Chase. I live here."

He nodded. "Do you have a little boy?"

Daniel shook his head. "No."

Chase nodded, frowning. "Hmph. Mommy, can you see my room now?"

She smiled. "I will in a minute, Chase. Go play."

Chase ran back into the condo.

"I'm Liz, by the way," she moved closer to her side of the wall. "I'm sorry that the music was so loud. I didn't know you were home."

Daniel nodded. "Daniel. I know I'm gone a lot."

Chase suddenly reappeared. "Hey, Daniel! You wanna go on picnic with us? We are still going to picnic, right, Mom?"

Liz nodded. "Yes, Chase, we are. Go get your shoes on." Then she turned to look at him. "You are welcome to come, if you want. I don't imagine you probably have a lot of groceries in there and if you don't mind leftover fried chicken, we have plenty."

Daniel nodded, without really thinking. "Sure. I'll meet you downstairs?"

She smiled. "The lobby in, oh, thirty minutes?"

"I'll be there."

Liz and Chase were waiting in the lobby with a picnic basket when Daniel arrived. Chase was holding a large, red, toy car against his chest.

"Hi, Daniel!" Chase waved, as though he hadn't seen Daniel in a long while.

Daniel waved back as he approached them. He'd changed into a button-down, short-sleeved blue, cotton shirt that would be lightweight enough for the warm weather, stonewashed blue jeans and driving mocs. He noticed that Liz had changed as well.

She wore capris pants with sandals and a short-sleeved, light blue, V-neck t-shirt. It was an outfit that accented her figure nicely and brought out the blue in her eyes, even more.

"Wow," she smiled. "That shirt goes great with your eyes," she told him.

Daniel warmed. "I was just thinking the same thing about you."

She looked down and blushed. "Great minds, I guess. Ready?"

"Sure." He took the basket from her.

She looked like she was going to protest, but just smiled and said. "Thank you," and took Chase's hand.

They walked together, with Chase chattering away, the two blocks to a nearby park. They went to one of the picnic benches near the playground and sat as Chase immediately started pushing his car across the table.

Chase stopped. "Do you like giving shots?" he asked Daniel suddenly.

Daniel's eyebrows rose. "What?" He glanced over to Liz and then back. "I don't give shots."

"But Old Mister Lindley called you 'Dr. Jackson'." Chase looked over to his mother. "Right, Mommy, when you were checking the mail?"

"He's not the kind of doctor that gives shots," Liz said, smoothing Chase's hair in the back. "Do you remember when we went to Chicago?"

His eyes lit up. "Ooo! Daniel, we went to Chicago! On an air-o-plane! It was _so_ cool! Can we go there again tomorrow, Mommy? Do you want to go, Daniel?"

"Chase," Liz said, firmly. "Pay attention."

Chase looked back at her, impatiently. "What?"

"Do you remember when we went to the Field Museum and we saw the mummies and the King Tut exhibit?"

Chase's eyes were wide. "You know, Daniel, I saw a mummy as big as me! A boy one and a girl one! And they keep the guts in jars! And you know what my grandpa told me? They put a stick in your nose and pull your brains out!" He smiled and touched his stomach. With a little boy chuckle, he added. "That's so funny, isn't it?"

Daniel was totally taken by this little boy with so much enthusiasm. "I guess it could be," he smiled.

"Well, Daniel is like one of the men who found King Tut's tomb," Liz continued her explanation again. "He's an archaeologist. That's the kind of doctor he is."

"Did you find any mummies?" Chase asked.

Daniel shook his head. "Not recently."

"Oh." Chase looked at his car. "You like my car?"

Daniel chuckled. "It's a very nice car."

"Mommy, when we go to Chicago again tomorrow, can Daniel come with us to see the mummies?"

Liz smiled. "We'll see, Chase. Go play, now, while I get the picnic ready."

"He's cute." Daniel commented as Chase took his car to a nearby wood tie at the edge of the playground.

Liz's smile widened. "Thank you. I think so, but I may be a little biased."

Daniel smiled. "He moves fast too. Mummies to cars and back in a single breath."

"Short attention span."

"And 'Chicago tomorrow'?"

She laughed and shook her head. "The concept of time is very difficult for him to grasp right now. If you were to ask him when we went to Chicago, he'd probably say yesterday, even though it was two months ago. And he's always asking to go to places 'tomorrow' because anything farther away is just too far for him to really grasp. I've learned to not tell him about things happening too far in advance or I hear about it everyday until it happens." She, then, added. "He also doesn't realize how far Chicago is from Colorado Springs."

She began to unpack the food from the basket and Daniel went over and knelt to play with Chase.

Chase left his car in the grass when he firmly hit Daniel in the back of the head and shouted. "TAG!" He squealed with glee when Daniel stood to try to catch him.

When Liz finally called for them, Daniel chased Chase to the table. The little boy's face was flushed pink from exertion and split wide with squeals of laughter.

Liz stood Chase on the bench and began to wipe his face and hands with a baby wipe. She offered one to Daniel, which he took and dutifully wiped his own face and hands.

They sat down to eat, making conversation, mostly with Chase.

"You can come next time we picnic if you want to, Daniel," Chase said as he finished his chicken. "Can I go swing, Mommy?"

She glanced over to the swings, which were close by. "Just stay where you can see me and I can see you. Okay?"

She watched Chase as he ran to the swings and lay across the swing and spin to get the chains crossed and wound around each other. Then he lifted his feet and laughed as he spun like the blades of a helicopter.

"So you do this on a regular basis?"

"About once or twice a month. He loves fried chicken but it's not really worth the mess for just the two of us, so whenever I make it, I make enough for leftovers and we always go for a picnic the next day."

Daniel nodded, frowning down at the table. "I don't want to intrude," he said after a minute.

Liz smiled. "It wouldn't be an intrusion. You're more than welcome to come along."

Daniel looked up at her. "What? Oh, I wasn't…thank you."

Her eyes narrowed. "What's on your mind? What were you going to say?"

Daniel squinted at her, then turned his attention to Chase. "It's none of my business, really."

Liz scrutinized him and then smiled. "Ah." Liz glanced over to Daniel, then went back to watching Chase. "Chase's father was never interested in having kids and when I got pregnant, he lost interest in me. He was gone before Chase was born. As far as I know, he doesn't even know if his child was a boy or a girl."

Daniel's frown deepened and his eyebrows came together. He was staring at the table, when Liz reached over and patted his hand. He looked up to see her smiling.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For whatever you were thinking. We're better than fine, really. Chase is my little man, my whole world, and we're better off, I think, without the father in the picture." She watched Chase adoringly.

"I was thinking that I can't understand how anyone could do something like that," Daniel's frown was still there. "How does anyone walk away from their child?"

She smiled and looked back at him. "You have a good heart, Daniel Jackson."

After finishing the food, cleaning up and playing with Chase for a while more, they headed back. Chase complained about being tired of walking and Liz told him that it was short walk. Chase moved to Daniel, who was carrying the basket, and raised his arms to him.

"Daniel's not going to carry you, Chase. He's carrying the basket."

"But I want someone to carry me. I can't walk so far, I'm still little."

Liz quickly hid a smile. "But you told me this morning you were a big boy."

He shook his head stubbornly. "I'm not. I'm little."

Daniel looked at her and said. "It's okay, really. I'd love to."

She nodded and took the basket.

Daniel picked Chase up and the boy immediately put his head on Daniel's shoulder. Before they finished the next block, Chase was asleep.

Liz groaned. "Aw, Chase," she said, softly.

Daniel looked at her. "What?"

She sighed, with a smile. "It's too early. It's only 5. He'll sleep for 3 hours and then won't want to go back to bed until midnight."

Daniel frowned. "So what do we do?"

She stroked Chase's head and sighed. "Let him sleep. I don't think we'd be able to get him to wake up at this point."

Daniel walked Liz up to her condo and she guided him into Chase's room, filled with Spiderman, trucks, airplanes and all sorts of little boy stuff. Daniel gently placed Chase down on the toddler bed and Liz removed the boy's shoes and covered him with a thin blanket.

Without words, they walked back out of the room. "Would you like something to drink?" she asked.

"Sure."

"Soda, okay, or do you want something stronger? I don't have any beer…"

"Soda's fine. I'm not a big beer drinker, myself."

She laughed. "Never developed a taste for it, either." She returned from the kitchen with two glasses of clear soda and ice. "I hope you don't mind Lemon-lime. As warm as it is today, caffeine would just dehydrate us further."

He nodded and took the glass, gratefully. "So you know about what I do, Liz. What do you do?"

"I know you're an archaeologist," she corrected. "I don't know what you do. You're gone so often and the rumor is that you work up at Cheyenne. Lots of archaeological finds at NORAD?"

He smiled. "Let's just say I do some translating work for the government. Having to do with ancient artifacts."

She smiled. "Good enough. I work at Peterson. Secretary for the base historian."

Daniel put his drink down and looked at her with his eyebrows raised. "Really? What's that like?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Lots of transcribing," she smiled. "The historian interviews people after events and missions and I transcribe his notes for the archives. Then, after five years, those archives go to St. Louis where they are stored for all eternity." After a pause, she sipped from her drink and said. "I like it."

Daniel sat back. "Two history buffs living next door to each other, both working for the government. It really is a small world, isn't it?"

She smiled. "You could say that."

They spent the evening making small talk and when Daniel finally looked at the clock it read 7:30.

"I'd better go. I think tomorrow's Monday and I have to go back to work."

She laughed. "Jet-lag will do that to you. Tomorrow _is_ Monday, and I have to go to work, too."

She walked him to the door where he thanked her for inviting him.

"Chase did, remember?"

"He's cute," Daniel smiled. "I hope he stays in bed for you."

She laughed again. "Me too."

"Good night, Liz," he squeezed her hand.

She nodded and let it go. "Good night, Daniel."


	2. Chapter 2

Two months later, Doctor Daniel Jackson was humming when Colonel Jack O'Neill entered his office. Jack stopped and frowned at this un-Daniel-like sound from Daniel.

"Daniel?" he said, slowly. "Whatchadoin?"

"Hmm?" Daniel looked up momentarily from a piece of paper he was holding. "Oh, hi, Jack."

"Hello." Jack walked toward Daniel's desk with a half-smile prancing around his lips, with his eyebrows raised almost to his hairline. He tilted his head back slightly and looked down at his friend. "Daniel?" He repeated. "Whatchadoin'?"

"Hmm?" Daniel looked up again. He smiled, and flushed. "Oh, nothing, just reading a note that was left on my door this morning." He put it down and Jack quickly picked it up.

_Daniel,_

_I'm making fried chicken Saturday. Hope to see you Sunday, 2 or 3. We're flexible._

_Liz_

_P.S. Chase asks if you can bring a dinosaur bone. I told him you weren't a paleontologist, but you know Chase._

Jack's eyes narrowed and a smile started to tug at his lips as he put the note down. "Who are 'Liz' and 'Chase'?"

"They're my neighbors. Liz is a secretary at Peterson and Chase is her four-year-old son."

At this point, Teal'C entered the room. "Hello, DanielJackson. O'Neill, General Hammond wishes me to inform you that our briefing has been rescheduled for 1400 hours."

Jack looked at Teal'C and nodded. "Sweet. Now, Daniel can finish telling me about the new girlfriend."

Teal'C's eyebrows rose and he looked, with renewed interest, at Daniel.

"What? No. She's not –" he paused, flustered, and glared at Jack, who was enjoying Daniel's discomfort entirely too much. "She's my neighbor. We go on picnics whenever she makes fried chicken and I'm 'in town'. I play with her kid at the park."

Teal'C nodded. Jack looked amused.

"There's never been anything romantic at all between Liz and I. We're friends. Really. I like her and her son. They're nice people."

"Nice," Jack nodded. He looked at Teal'C and grinned.

Teal'C said. "Indeed." in a very solemn tone.

"Seriously," Daniel insisted.

Jack nodded again, more emphatically. "Okay." He sounded truly convinced.

Samantha Carter came into the office. "Hey, sir, the briefing's been – "

"We know," Jack said.

"What's going on?" She looked around the room, suspiciously.

"Daniel's got a girlfriend," Jack said.

"Jack!" Daniel shouted.

"That's great, Daniel!" Sam smiled widely. "What's her name? Who is she?"

"Name's Liz; she's a secretary," Jack supplied.

Daniel leaned down and began to hit his head against the lab table.

"Apparently, she 'makes fried chicken'." Teal'C added.

Samantha looked back at Daniel as he groaned. She frowned as she thought she heard her friend mutter, "Just kill me now."

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Daniel awoke to the sounds of music from next door. He grinned as he recognized the sound of "Homesick" from Liz's favorite Travis Tritt album and reached for his glasses. He pulled on a pair of shorts and a shrugged on his button-down shirt from the day before and walked to the balcony. After giving his eyes a minute to adjust to the light, he opened the sliding glass door and walked out.

"Hey, Liz," He said.

She was sitting on her balcony with a book and a cup of coffee. She was wearing jeans, a well-worn Billy Joel concert T-shirt and sunglasses. As usual, her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her feet were bare. When she looked up, he thought he saw her eyebrows go up and something happen with her cheeks. It took a moment for her to put the coffee cup back down and stand. "Hold on!"

She moved inside to turn down the music and came out with another cup of coffee. She handed him the coffee. "Sorry about the music again. You should slip a note under the door when you've come home late and will be sleeping in."

He accepted the coffee and leaned against the wall that they shared. "It's okay. I have to work today. It's just that I have a late meeting, so I didn't set my alarm."

Liz nodded. She looked up at him and seemed to really scrutinize his face.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

For a second, she didn't say or do anything. Then she laughed quietly. "Aside from a half naked man standing next door? Absolutely nothing." She walked back to the chair, picked up her cup from the table next to it and sipped from her own coffee, her back to him.

Daniel frowned. "Half-naked?" He looked down to see that he hadn't buttoned the shirt and the soft breeze was blowing it open. He also hadn't exactly secured the button of his shorts, though, at least, the zipper was up. "Oh, jeez, sorry, Liz." He put the coffee down and began to make himself more presentable.

She laughed more openly this time. "Hey, no complaints from here."

Eager to change the subject, Daniel asked. "Where's Chase this morning?"

"He's stayed the night with a school friend. I've known the parents for a long time and thought it would be nice for him."

"Just for him?"

Liz turned to face him again and grinned. "Okay, for me, too. It is the first time I've been by myself in almost 4 years. Not that I'm complaining, but it was really nice to take a bath with out someone barging in every two minutes."

Daniel smiled and nodded. "And now you're reading?"

"Yeah," she picked up _Angels & Demons_ and handed it to him. "It's fiction, about a plot to destroy the Catholic Church with science. It's pretty interesting. Fast-paced and keeps you guessing. I'm almost done."

Daniel read the back of it and nodded, handing it back.

Liz put the book back down. "It takes place mostly in Rome, so I'm sitting here trying to remember things I saw when I went there. The author's very descriptive with his landmarks and works by Galileo and Raphael."

He smiled. "You'll have to loan it to me when you're done."

She nodded. "Sure."

They talked across the balcony and drank coffee together, until Daniel finished his, then he looked inside to the clock. "I'd better start getting ready for work."

She nodded. "I have to go pick up Chase. He'll be upset that he didn't get to see you."

Daniel smiled. "Tell him I'll be home tomorrow and I brought him something."

Liz frowned, good-naturedly. "Dr. Jackson, you're spoiling my son rotten."

His smile widened to involve his entire face. "My pleasure."

She laughed. "Oh, get on with you."

He turned to walk inside, when she called him back.

"Yes?"

"Are you in town this weekend?" she asked.

"As far as I know, I'll find out for sure this afternoon."

She nodded. "I'm planning our picnic for Saturday this week, if you want to go."

He nodded. "I'll let you know."

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Daniel shut down his computer and closed his journal. He looked around his office and decided to clean the mess when he came back to work in the morning. He was picking up his jacket when the phone rang. "I'm _not_ answering you," he told it. It rang again. "Nope. Not doing it." It rang again and he sighed, walking over to it. As it rang a fourth time, he picked it up.

"Dr. Jackson," he answered.

"_Dr. Jackson, listen carefully."_

Daniel frowned. This voice sounded very Goa'uld-ish. Daniel knew it was probably voice-altering technology like what was shown in movies, but it concerned him as if it had been Apophis himself speaking. "Who is this?"

"_We have your son. If you want to see him alive again, you will follow our instructions carefully."_

"My son? I don't have a son," Daniel protested. "Who is this?"

"_Then perhaps we should just dispose of the boy now."_

"No! Wait. I don't know who you have, but don't hurt him. What do you want?"

"_We will call your home in 90 minutes with instructions. You will not want to involve the police. Wait for our call."_

Daniel frowned as the phone went dead. He tried to think how these people could think he had a child and who the boy could be. Then it hit him.

"Daniel, you ready?" Jack asked from the door. He and Teal'C were ready for dinner, which is where the three of them were supposed to be going.

"Uh, Jack, something's come up. I have to go home." He moved quickly out of his office and headed for the elevator.

Jack exchanged looks with Teal'C, who raised his eyebrows.

"What's wrong, Daniel?" Jack asked, following close behind.

"I just got a call from someone saying that they have my son."

Teal'C frowned. "You do not have a son, DanielJackson."

"No, but Liz does."

"Liz, the girlfriend?" Jack asked. At Daniel's look, he amended. "Uh, the neighbor?"

"Yes. Someone must have seen us at the park together and assumed – " Daniel swore softly in a language Jack didn't understand. Teal'C's eyebrows rose high enough to tell Jack that he understood the linguist. When the elevator opened, he moved in, with Jack and Teal'C close behind him.

Jack picked up the phone inside the elevator and asked to be connected to Samantha Carter. "Sam, yeah, change of plans. We're headed to Daniel's. See if you can get one of those phone-tracing doohickeys from Siler and meet us there. We may have a situation."

Daniel gave Jack a grateful look.

Yeah," he paused. "And bring a couple of zats, will ya?" Jack looked over at Daniel and Teal'C. "Just in case."

The three men climbed into Jack's pick up truck, where Jack pulled a 9 mm SIG-Sauer P226 from under his front seat and tucked it into his waistband under his jacket. Again, he said. "Just in case."

When they arrived at Daniel's condo building twenty minutes later, Daniel was out almost before the truck was in park. He ran into the building and punched the elevator button. By the time, Jack and Teal'C entered the lobby, Daniel had decided to forsake the elevator for the emergency stairs.

Teal'C paused to look at Jack.

"After you, big guy," Jack said, with a sigh.

Teal'C followed Daniel at an easy pace and reached the top seemingly without effort. Jack, on the other hand, was cursing his knees and muttering something about a 130 year old being in better shape.

They followed Daniel to the door before his, where he knocked impatiently.

The door flew open. A woman with tousled red hair, an angry red mark on her cheek and a cut lip looked frantically at Daniel.

"Oh, Daniel! Somebody took Chase!"

Daniel looked at her with a pained look. "I know." He took her in his arms.

She sank into him. "What am I going to do…wait!" She pushed away, looking up at his face. "How do you know?"

"I got a phone call at my office saying that someone had _my_ son. I was hoping I was wrong, but I thought it might be Chase."

"You got a phone call?" she cried. "What did they say? Is he okay? Where is he? What do they want?"

Daniel grabbed her shoulders to offer her his strength. "They just told me to be by my home phone in 90 minutes," he checked his watch. "That's an hour from now."

"Who would want to kidnap my son, Daniel?" She paused and her eyes narrowed. "Why would someone want to kidnap _your_ son? And how do they have your phone number?"

Daniel shook his head. "I don't know." He looked past her into her apartment and saw two uniformed police officers watching the whole exchange. "The caller said not to involve the police." Daniel looked over to Jack, who had a strange look on his face. "What do you think, Jack?"

Liz looked to Teal'C and Jack and gasped. She stepped past Daniel with barely contained fury on her face. "Yes, _Jack_, what _do_ you think?"

Before he could answer, she turned on her heel and walked inside. Daniel looked askance at Jack – who was recovering from a look of surprise, then back to Liz as she explained to the police that Daniel had received a call and the military was now involved. Daniel frowned as she curtly referred to him as "Dr. Jackson" and "my neighbor" and he noticed the acid in her voice as she referred to "the military".

Sam arrived, carrying a case. "What's up, sir?"

"Daniel, let Sam have your keys," Jack said, placing his hand on Daniel's shoulder. "Sam, set up in Daniel's place with his phone. We're waiting for a phone call. Teal'C will fill you in."

Sam and Teal'C nodded and walked next door.

Daniel looked at Jack, pain and confusion written all over his face. "I don't understand, Jack. What just happened? Do you know each other?"

Jack frowned and shook his head. "It's complicated. Let's just concentrate on getting her boy back."


	3. Chapter 3

Liz paced Daniel's living room. She was inconsolable. Every once in a while she looked at Jack with venomous ire and she wouldn't even look at Daniel.

"Liz, how did it happen?" Daniel asked.

"We were walking to the car at the market and a dark van pulled up beside us. Two men jumped out. One grabbed Chase – " Her voice cracked. "I tried to fight them…"

Daniel touched her arm to offer some comfort, but she pulled away, glaring in Jack's direction. "How do they know to call you here?" she asked. "How did they call your office? NORAD has public listings now?"

He shook his head. "I don't know."

Liz stopped pacing. "Call that police negotiator back in here. I want them involved," she said, not for the first time.

"The caller said that we will not 'want' to involve the police, Liz," Daniel started. "Which means that – "

"That whatever they're after is of a classified nature," she snapped. "Well, Daniel, right now the US Government and its classification structure can kiss my ass! This person has my son and I don't care who knows about what little secrets you and _Jack_ are hiding in that mountain. I want my boy back!" Her voice was gaining the higher pitch of near-hysterics.

Teal'C stepped forward toward Liz. "ElizabethMcReynolds," he said. This was the first time he'd spoken to her directly, choosing instead his usual strong, silent-type role. "Please calm yourself. Find comfort in the knowledge that we will bring your son back to you safely."

She looked up at him, frowning. Tears sprang to her eyes suddenly and she swiped them away. "I'm going to hold you to that, Murray," her tone was much calmer but her voice was still shaking.

Teal'C bowed his head and turned to face Daniel as the phone rang.

"Oh, God," she murmured as Jack picked up headphones and Daniel looked to Sam, who nodded. "We're all set." Daniel hit the speaker button on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"_Dr. Jackson."_

"Yes. Who is this?"

"_Listen closely. You will deliver one pound of weapons grade naquada to a designated site at 0200 hours. This should not be a problem, since it is safe to assume Colonel O'Neill is with you,"_

"What? What are you talking about? Where would I get this 'naquada' you mentioned? I'm an archaeologist!"

"_Don't play dumb, Dr. Jackson! We will kill the boy if you do not comply."_

"NO!" Liz shouted. "Please--!" Teal'C held her back.

Daniel looked at Jack, who nodded. Then Jack looked at Sam, who shook her head, still looking at the computer screen that the tracing machine was hooked up to.

He sighed. "All right. But I need to know the boy is okay. Let me talk to him."

"_That is not part of the deal, Dr. Jackson."_

"How do I know, then, that he's not already dead? How do I know that I'm not giving you something for nothing?"

There was a long pause and the room was silent, except for Liz whispering "Please!"

"_Daniel?"_ The voice was that of a small boy.

"Chase!" Liz cried.

"Yes, Chase. It's me. Are you okay?"

"_Um, yep. The man bought me ice cream. Did you know he likes chocolate? His van smells funny, tho—" _The line went silent.

"Chase!" Daniel called out.

"_I will call again at 0100 with directions to the drop."_ Then the line went dead.

Daniel looked over to Sam. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Daniel." She sighed. "The signal was bounced all over the world a couple of times over."

Jack frowned. "We're going to have to wait for the next call and make the drop."

"I'm going with you."

Every member of SG-1 looked at Liz, who was looking at Jack with her jaw set.

Jack shook his head. "Look, Liz, I know what you're feeling, but you can't –"

"Don't you ever tell me what I can and can not do, _Jack_. You don't get to do that. What if it were your son? You wouldn't sit and wait if someone had Charlie."

A pained expression came across Jack O'Neill's face. "No, but Sara would," he said, softly.

"Well," she smiled, humorlessly. "I'm not Sara. There is no way in hell I'm going to put my son's life in your hands and sit here waiting. I'm going with you and I don't care what you have to say or what secrets you need to guard. I want my son back and I'm going to make sure you get him for me."

Daniel's head was spinning as Liz walked out of his apartment and slammed the door to her own. "Jack, you want to tell me what is going on?"

Jack sighed. "Not really." He turned to Sam. "Can we get the naquada?"

"Sir, we can't give them weapons grade naquada!" Sam protested. "Especially not so much. Do you remember when we first met Cassandra? The demonstration of 1 microscopic particle of naquada mixed with 1 microscopic particle of potassium?"

Jack nodded. "What do we have that can look like naquada? Do we have something that will look close enough to it that they will have to test it to find out that it's not the real thing?"

Sam thought for a minute. "I might be able to come up with something, sir, but I need to go back to my lab."

Jack nodded. "Go. I'll call you when we get the word of the where and when of the drop, then you can meet us on the way. We know they want it at 0200, that gives you…6 hours."

"I'm on it." She stood, grabbed her jacket and rushed out the door.

"Jack?" Daniel inquired. His eyes were narrowed.

"Go see how she is, Daniel," Jack said, turning his back to his friend and looking out the window. "She shouldn't be alone."

"Jack," Daniel's voice was on edge. "Where do you know her from?"

Jack was silent for a while. Daniel walked behind him.

"Why is she so angry with you, Jack?"

Teal'C stood straight and announced. "I will see to ElizabethMcReynolds." He, then, walked out of Daniel's apartment.

"Jack?"

"Oh, Daniel, just drop it," Jack said, irritably.

Daniel's eyebrows rose. "No, Jack. I don't think I will."

Jack sighed. "You're a pain in the ass, you know?"

Daniel pursed his lips and ducked his head, looking at him through the tops of his glasses, eyebrows raised. "Jack."

"I knew her in '90." his friend murmured. He cleared his throat. "She married someone under my command. Then Iraq happened."

Daniel frowned. He knew that Jack had been a POW in Iraq, and had been treated brutally, but nothing more. "She told me that her husband left her before Chase was born."

Jack shook his head. "I didn't know she was pregnant at the time."

"But Chase is only four years old. If she'd been pregnant in '90…"

"If Chase is four, then Mike couldn't be the father," Jack shook his head. "We were _both_ captured in Iraq."

Daniel waited for a moment. "Go on." He prodded, gently. "Why is she so angry at you?"

"I came home. Her husband didn't." Jack snapped. "She blamed me, as she should have. I was his CO. They'd been married less than two years. She refused to let me in the house after the funeral." He ran his hands through his hair. "Last I heard she'd resigned her commission. I thought that she moved back to the Midwest, where her family was from. I guess she never forgave me."

Daniel silently studied the nearby table.

Jack frowned. "We're going to get her son back, Daniel." His eyes were black as night. "I can't make up for Mike, but I can do that, at least."

Daniel nodded. "I love the kid, Jack." he ground out. "Like he's my own."

Jack saw the pain in Daniel's eyes and set his jaw with a nod. "We'll get him back."

Teal'C was looking at a picture of Chase, while Liz laced up her boots. "It is easy to see why someone would think your son was DanielJackson's."

She looked up at him and frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"He does not have your red hair. His hair is more close to the color of DanielJackson's. With the blue eyes, one could easily make the mistake."

She stood and took the picture from Teal'C. "His hair is the color mine was when I was his age…" She touched the picture softly. "I can see it, though, now that you mention it."

She put the picture back and turned to Teal'C with her arms crossed. "If Daniel works with Jack O'Neill, why did they think to come after Daniel? If Jack is Daniel's CO, why not go for the big kahuna?"

Teal'C frowned. "Big kahuna?"

She nodded. "Why not going after the boss' son? Wouldn't that be more effective?"

Teal'C straightened, understanding her words. "ColonelO'Neill's son has been dead for many years now."

Liz paled. "What?"

"His son was killed in an accident involving ColonelO'Neill's own weapon."

Liz put her hand to her throat, some of the wind taken from her sails. "Oh, god." She raked her hands through her hair. She moved away and picked up a band to tie it back. She rubbed her face and sighed.

There was a soft knock on the door. Teal'C moved to answer it after a wordless nod from Liz. Daniel stood there.

"Can I come in?"

Liz took a deep breath. "Yes."

After Daniel walked in, Teal'C stepped out and pulled the door closed.

She looked past Daniel to the closed door. "He seems like a good guy."

"He is," Daniel nodded. "So is Jack."

Liz took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen. Daniel followed her.

"Liz?"

"I know, Daniel," she sighed. She poured herself a glass of water and took a deep drink. "I know he is. It's just that here I am, my world has been stolen from me and I look over and there's Jack O'Neill – again."

"He told me about…before."

She put the glass in the sink and stared at it. "Yeah, well. I was completely irrational. I know that. There were many times I thought about him and Sara and felt awful about the way I treated him." She sniffed. "I wasn't prepared. I'm not…"

She looked at Daniel with her eyes moist. "They were MIA for months and people told me to expect the worst, but I'm an optimist – or at least I was then," she smiled, with no humor. "So when Jack returned and Mike didn't, I wasn't prepared. I blamed Jack. I know Jack would have done everything in his power to bring Mike back, but I blamed him. I blamed him and the Air Force."

She rubbed her face. "Obviously, I got past it. I work for the Air Force again and I got over being angry at Jack a long time ago. I don't know why I reacted that way…" Then tears sprang to her eyes. "Oh, Daniel, if anything happens to Chase, I – "

Daniel took the two steps it took to close the space between them and pulled her to his chest. "We're not going to let anything happen to him, Liz. We're going to get him back." He pressed his lips against the top of her head. "I promise."

She pulled back, her eyes snapped and her face was set in determination. "I'm still going with you."

Daniel nodded. "I guess I can't stop you, but you'll have to accept that Jack's in charge. He's our best bet, Liz."

She nodded. "I can do that, I think."

Liz walked back into Daniel's condo looking like a member of the SGC. Jack shook his head when he saw her in black cargo pants, a black t-shirt and combat boots. She tilted her head at his look and gave a half-hearted smile. "What?"

"I would have thought you'd have gotten rid of that stuff," Jack commented.

Liz raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged. "They're good for camping."

Jack nodded and turned back to the sliding glass door.

Liz walked up to him, opened the door and walked out. "We need to talk," she said.

Jack looked back at Daniel, who nodded. Then he walked out to the balcony and slid the door shut.

"I'm sorry about Charlie," she said, without preamble.

Jack looked at her, then inside at the two men he worked with.

"Murray told me," she said. "I'm sorry. I would have never made that crack if I had known."

"I'm sorry about Mike."

Liz closed her eyes. "Mike was a full-grown man, doing what he loved. It's not your fault that it got him killed. I forgave him a long time ago." She looked out into the night. After a long moment of silence, she looked at him. "I hope you can forgive me for blaming you."

Jack studied her. He looked out into the night. "You reacted. Completely understandable. I was his CO."

She looked up at him. "And I should have accepted that you would have brought him home if you could have – _because_ you were his CO. I'm sorry."

They fell silent and Jack studied the cars below.

Jack frowned. "We're going to get your son back."

She nodded. "We have to. I can't lose him."

He looked at her. "I don't want you to go."

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "'The female of the species is more deadly than the male', Jack, don't you know that? Try to stop me."

Jack studied her face and saw resolve that a Goa'uld mother ship couldn't weaken, then shrugged. "Okay, but I gotta tell you. Right now, you're the only one who looks like a commando here."

Liz smiled. "Well, then, I can do the commando work."

He looked back down to the street. "You're going to have to trust me, you know."

Her smile faded. "I do, Jack. Really."

Jack was frowning and staring at something. "Do any of your neighbors drive a van? Does that one look familiar?"

She looked down. "Well, we're quite a ways up and it's dark…why?"

Below them, across the street from the front entrance, a dark van was parked. A figure carrying something that looked like a thin, square box climbed into the back.

Liz looked at him. "What is that? Jack?"

"I wonder if…they're staking out the building to see if we leave," Jack said.

"What makes you think that's them?"

Jack frowned. "Pizza. I may be wrong, but ---" He moved back into the apartment. "Teal'C," he called. "I think I have a plan."


	4. Chapter 4

Teal'C pulled the SUV to the edge of the building's parking garage exit. The driving lessons had 'paid off' as O'Neill had said. He sat, watching the van, in total darkness. Truth be told, he would have felt more comfortable approaching the van and taking its occupants by surprise in order to persuade them to return the boy, but O'Neill had said that _if_ it were the kidnappers and _if _they didn't have Chase with them, then catching them now would do little good. Teal'C had straightened to his full 6'4" and quoted a movie they had recently watched.

"We have ways of making them talk."

DanielJackson and O'Neill exchanged amused looks in spite of themselves. ElizabethMcReynolds patted his arm and nodded.

"Good," she commented. "We may need it later."

Now he and she sat silently in her Explorer at the exit of the parking garage, waiting.

Daniel looked out of the balcony, then to his watch. Almost 0200. He frowned. "I wish you hadn't let her go with Teal'C."

"The kidnappers aren't going to expect her to leave with us. If they are watching, they know that Sam left already. They might become suspicious if they saw her climbing into the truck with us. Besides," Jack opened his cell phone. "Who better to keep her safe?" He dialed as Daniel nodded. "Sam, time's up…yeah? Nice. Are you sure they won't know the difference?"

Daniel watched as Jack listened to Sam and noticed that, for once, his friend's eyes did not glaze over.

"Okay, okay, Sam, just pack it up and get to your car…okay, your bike then…of all the days for you ride…yeah, Sam, just get up there and wait for my call."

The Daniel's phone rang. Jack hung up on Sam and picked up the headphones, then nodded for Daniel to pick up.

"This is Daniel Jackson."

"_Dr. Jackson, were you able to procure the item?"_

"I have someone getting it. We will deliver it when and where you say."

"_Very good, Dr. Jackson. Now you will take it out to where North Cheyenne Canyon Road meets Gold Camp Road and High. There will be Detour sign that you will follow down a dirt road exactly 2 miles. There, you will leave the package and head back to the detour sign. After the drop has been confirmed, a vehicle will stop and the boy will be released. Go alone. Do not think about involving the police or the military any further."_

Daniel looked at Jack who was making a motion of driving and then a slashing motion. "Uh, okay, but I don't have car. Can I bring one person who drives?"

The voice seemed to smile. _"You may bring Jack O'Neill, but he is to remain behind the wheel of the car at all times."_

Daniel looked at Jack and mouthed "How?"

Jack shook his head.

"_I suggest you get moving, Dr. Jackson. You have one hour."_ The line went dead.

"How does this person know us?" Daniel stood. "What the hell, Jack?"

Jack smirked at his friend's use of language. Jack pulled out his cell phone and touched the Push To Talk. "Teal'C."

"_Go ahead, O'Neill"_

"Watch the van. We're heading out to Gold Camp Road."

In the elevator, Jack called Sam and gave her a meeting place on the way.

Teal'C watched the van, as instructed.

"There they go," Liz breathed. She pointed to Jack and Daniel moving out to Jack's truck. They got in and drove off. The van suddenly came to life and followed. "Go."

Teal'C put the SUV in gear and slowly pulled out into the road, his lights still off.

"Uh, Murray," Liz said. "I appreciate the need to be stealthy, but we're still inside the city. If a cop sees us driving with no head lights, we'll get pulled over."

"I will turn them on at the next intersection," Teal'C said, calmly. "To do so sooner will likely alert the van to our presence and cause suspicion."

Liz nodded. She looked down at her lap, where she had opened a map of Colorado Springs that she'd kept in her glove compartment. She was found Gold Camp Road and swore. "This road goes into the mountains forever!"

Teal'C handed the cell phone to her.

She hit the Push To Talk. "Jack, Daniel," she said.

"_What is it, Liz?"_ Daniel's voice was on edge.

"Where on Gold Camp Road is the location? That road goes into the mountains…"

"_Gold Camp Road and North Cheyenne Canyon Road"_

Liz put the phone in the cup holder of the center console and looked at the map using only the passing street lights. "Crap," she said, suddenly.

"What is?"

She looked at Murray, whom Jack called "Teelk", and frowned. "Those two roads meet out in the middle of nowhere. It's not like here in the city. If they picked an intersection in town, we might have been able to come at it from a different direction, but this…" she shook her head. "Damn it."

"I suspect that O'Neill may have a plan."

They drove in silence for a long way. "Look, they're turning off," Liz picked up the phone. "They've stopped following you. It looks like they're heading to the reservoir."

Daniel's voice came back. _"Jack says to keep following them. We're meeting with Sam up ahead in a few minutes, then we're going on to the drop. Let us know what you see."_

Liz looked at Murray, who nodded. "Understood."

Jack pulled over and got out of the truck.

Sam was standing next to her motorcycle looking nervous. "Please, sir, just be careful."

"I've ridden a motorcycle before, Sam."

Sam pursed her lips. "In the dark and off-road? But I'm not as worried about your riding ability as I am about their shooting…"

Jack nodded. "You're driving the truck. Stay in the truck. You're supposed to be me. You and Daniel are following the instructions to the T. Teal'C is following the van and I'll meet you out there." He straddled the bike. "Hopefully, we can nail these bastards."

Sam nodded and quickly jumped into the truck. Daniel nodded at her and she thought that he looked exactly like the time when they thought they'd lost Jack on Edora. There was tightness around his eyes and his lips were set in firm line. She reached over and grasped his arm for just a second before putting the truck in drive and pulling out.

Teal'C had turned the lights off again as soon as they followed the van off the main road. He and Liz drove in silence nearer to the reservoir.

"If they go all the way there, we're going to either have to stop or lose them," she commented. "There are too many lights up there and we'll be spotted for sure."

Teal'C made no comment. Instead, he concentrated on the van ahead and the possible routes it might take as they approached each turn. The van finally turned and approached a small building. The van backed up to it and a man got out. They watched as the man unlocked the building from the outside and an adult carrying a child came out and got into the back of the van.

"Oh, my God, Chase!" Liz breathed. "Murray!"

Teal'C did not take his eyes off of the van. "We can do nothing at this moment, ElizabethMcReynolds. There are at least three men in that van and one can assume they are armed. Even against our _zat'ni'katels_, it would not be impossible for one of them to kill your son before we could free him."

Liz closed her eyes. "I know, but…oh, God!"

Teal'C put the car in drive and followed after the van pulled out. "Indeed."

Without looking away from the van, Liz frowned. "By the way, what is a _zat-ni-katel_?"

Daniel put the phone down after receiving the information about the van from Liz. Her voice had sounded as tight as his chest felt. He could only try to imagine what she was going through, knowing her son was inside the van in front of her and not being able to do anything about it. He wished she was where he could hold her.

Sam looked over at him, concerned.

"I wish this was over," Daniel confessed. "I wouldn't wish this kind of agony on anyone."

Sam nodded. "I know. The Colonel has a plan, Daniel," She said, confidently. "He won't let anything happen to the boy."

"Chase," Daniel corrected. "His name is Chase. He's four and he loves anything that goes: cars, trucks, planes, trains…" Daniel examined the phone. "He thinks I'm a paleontologist, even though Liz and I have told him…" He smiled through his agony. "He wants me to get him a dinosaur bone or a mummy."

Sam felt her emotions well up as she heard the pain in her friend's voice. She swallowed the lump in her throat and concentrated on the road. "He sounds wonderful," she said, finally.

Daniel nodded. "Yeah," he said softly. He looked out the passenger window.

Liz felt as if her chest were in a vice. Every nerve in her body was screaming. Her baby was in danger and she was helpless to do anything about it.

"Do you have any children, Murray?" she choked.

Teal'C inclined his head. "I have a son."

"How old is he?"

Teal'C had never thought of his son's age in terms of earth years. He thought of an appropriate age. "He is a teenager," he said, confident that this would cover it.

She smiled, half-heartedly. "I'll bet he is the image of you," she said. "Tall and strong."

"He is becoming strong and tall," Teal'C nodded. "But he is more the image of his mother."

"Are you still together? His mother and you?"

"We are not. He lives with her."

She nodded. "But you try to see him when you can?"

Teal'C glanced over to her. "I do. They live very far from here, but when I have opportunity," he trailed off.

She nodded. Tears sprang to her eyes. "I knew you were a good person," she choked. "Chase has never known his father. I – " she stopped and rubbed her face with her hands.

Teal'C took a deep breath and grasped the wheel of the SUV a bit harder. "The van is turning."

Liz nodded. She took a deep breath and brought the phone to her lips. "Daniel, the van is back on Cheyenne Canyon."

"_We're at Gold Camp and High…I see the detour sign. We're going to make the drop."_

Liz closed her eyes and held the phone to her chest. After a moment, it chirruped. Jack's voice came over it. _"T,"_ he said.

Liz held the phone up to Murray and pushed the button.

"I am here, O'Neill."

"_Hey, I want you to wait off-road by the detour sign if you can. Hopefully, we can overwhelm the van when they release the boy."_

"Understood," Teal'C answered as Liz held the phone.

Liz looked at Murray, squinting her eyes in a frown of confusion. "What the hell is Jack doing? Why did it sound like he was shouting over a racecar engine?"

Teal'C merely looked down the road. "I do not know."

Jack was far enough ahead of Sam and Daniel that when they called to tell him that they'd found the detour sign, he was waiting at the drop. He'd driven past it like he was on his way somewhere, then he doubled back off-road, killing the engine and walking the bike a quarter of a mile. He had picked an outcropping of rocks above the area, parked Sam's motorcycle, and was on his belly with his _zat _in his hand waiting patiently.

The _zat _would give him an advantage the P-90 couldn't: shock value and no percussive noise to alert the bad guys to his location. Jack couldn't help a tight grin at the thought "Shock value," he muttered. "Gotta remember that one."

He dropped lower as he saw Sam and Daniel arrive in his pick-up. Daniel got out of the truck and took the case of a mineral Sam had engineered to look like naquadah in the same way that pyrite looks like gold and put it down in the middle of the dirt road. Then he got back into the car, looking around, as Sam turned the truck around and headed back.

"I didn't see anyone," Daniel frowned.

"I'm sure the Colonel was there somewhere."

Daniel's eyebrows came together and he narrowed his eyes. "Yeah," he said, slowly. "Maybe we should go back."

Sam shook her head. "No. We're following the instructions. If the kidnappers are, somehow, watching us, we want them to feel at ease and release Chase to us."

"What do you think Jack is planning?"

Sam had no idea, but she desperately wanted to put her friend at ease. "I'm sure he's just going to get the license plate and descriptions of the car and driver so that we can track them later."

Daniel looked at her with his eyebrows raised, and lips pursed. "You're sure?"

Sam looked at him and nodded. Then she tilted her head as she returned her eyes to the road. "Reasonably sure."

Daniel looked forward. "Uh-Huh." He didn't sound sure at all.

"Okay, no. I'm hopeful."

"But it does seem likely for Jack, does it?"

She grinned. "Not at all."

Daniel looked at Sam. "Maybe we _should_ go back."

"Colonel O'Neill will be fine. Remember he's got a lot of experience in 'special' situations." Sam mentally crossed her fingers and hoped.

Teal'C and Liz sat off the road. They'd pulled over and stopped as soon as the van did. They had no way of knowing if this was where the exchange would take place since they never saw the detour sign. Liz was getting more and more anxious.

"It's two," she announced. "Daniel and Jack should have made the drop and be on their way, now." Liz jumped as the phone on her lap chirped.

"_T"_ Jack's voice filtered through. There were no longer loud noises behind him and he sounded like he was whispering. _"Daniel and Sam just made the drop and they're headed back to the detour sign. What's your status?"_

As Murray took the phone, Liz shook her head and asked. "Daniel and Sam? What is Jack doing, then?"

Instead of answering, he depressed the button. "I am stopped on the side of road behind the van. I do not believe they are aware of our presence. We have not seen the detour sign."

"_Got it. Daniel's supposed to call when they get back to the detour sign. Keep your eyes open."_

Murray/Teal'C handed Liz back the phone and she looked at him. "You're going to have to tell me why he calls you 'T'."

He looked out at the van. "I believe he thinks I look like a television character."

Liz's head turned slowly from the van to look at him. The look on her face was one of frank disbelief. She raised an eyebrow, then the other. "He thinks you look like MR. T? Have you ever seen Mr. T? Jack's lost his mind."

Teal'C suddenly worried that the usual way of covering for Jack's slip was not going to work, but Liz did not push the matter, other than to shake her head and mutter. "Just don't see it."

"Look," Teal'C pointed. The van was moving. Teal'C put the SUV into gear and inched it forward.

As soon as Sam stopped, Daniel got out of the car. He went to stand at the front of it with the headlights illuminating him. He waited, hoping someone, other than Jack or Teal'C, would come soon. At this point his biggest fear was that the kidnappers wouldn't show and they'd find Chase…somewhere else. He felt his chest tighten again as the thought crossed his mind. He shoved his hands into his pockets, leaned against the bumper of the truck and waited.

Jack watched an All Terrain Vehicle come to a stop.

The man on it, dismounted, approached the case and knelt down to inspect it. He opened it, closed it again, and lifted a walkie-talkie to his face. Then he pocketed the walkie-talkie, picked up the case and jumped back onto the ATV.

That's when Jack shot him with the _zat_.

Jack moved cautiously toward the unconscious figure slumped almost off of the ATV. When he finally reached the side of the vehicle, he pushed on the man's shoulder. When there was no motion, he nodded and reached into his pocket for a plastic tie that Carter had thought to bring. He quickly tied the man to the front tire of the three-wheeled vehicle and took the case of "fool's _naquada_" and ran back to Sam's motorcycle to go help the rest of his team.


	5. Chapter 5

"_T--Murray, this Sam."_

Teal'C answered the call.

"_We're at the detour sign. Daniel's out in front of the truck. There is a dark colored vehicle approaching slowly. Is it you?"_

"We remain behind the van. Perhaps it is the van you see."

"It's stopping," Liz pointed out, breathless. "Here we go."

With that, she opened her door, climbed out, closed the door quietly and moved to the front passenger side tire of the truck. Teal'C jumped out the truck, concerned for what actions she might take and how they might endanger his team. He moved quietly to her side. "You must wait here," he admonished.

She frowned at him and shook her head. "Give me one of those fancy weapons and tell me which side you're taking."

Teal'C moved very close to her, so close that their bodies were almost touching. Her back was against the truck, so she could not move away and had to crane her neck to look at him since he was almost a foot taller than she.

"Hear me." His voice was low and commanding. "You will stay with the truck. I will give you a weapon only for the purpose of protecting yourself here and taking out anyone who may approach from the rear. You will not go to the van."

Liz swallowed. "He's _my_ son," she said, softly, but firmly back to him.

Teal'C gentled, just slightly. "Indeed. You must not prevent us from recovering him for you."

She looked down at his chest and sighed. "Okay. I'll watch your back."

Teal'C nodded. He then stepped away from her and handed her a _zat'ni'katel_. He quickly showed her how to fire it and warned her to not shoot anything twice. Then, he moved quietly toward the van, but far enough to the side of the road to not be noticed by anyone who maybe looking behind.

A mere moment later, Liz could barely see him in the dark. She then narrowed her eyes as a grim frown of determination touched her lips.

"Sorry, Teal'C," she murmured. "Can't watch your six, if I can't see it." Then she slowly and quietly followed his footsteps.

Daniel could see someone emerge from the side of the van. In the darkness, it was very difficult to tell if it was male or female. Then the figure bent in and retrieved something, turned and started toward the front, where Daniel could see better. It was a man carrying the limp form of a boy in his arms.

Daniel's heart leapt to his throat. "He must be sleeping," he assured himself. "He's a little boy and it's very late."

"You kept your end of the bargain, Dr. Jackson. We're keeping ours," the man said. "After I give you the boy, you stay where you are until we drive away. Remember we got to him once, we can do it again."

Daniel frowned. "I won't come after you," he promised, hoping there would be no need. "Can you just hand him to me? Don't put him on the ground, please?"

The man frowned, but then nodded. He came closer and handed Chase to Daniel.

The van behind him lit up twice and the man spun around.

Daniel was so busy checking Chase that he didn't notice what was going on anywhere else as he turned back toward the truck. As he neared the hood of the truck, he confirmed that Chase was truly alive, as all hell broke loose.

Teal'C had approached the van from the driver's side. When he reached the driver's side window, he spun around and fired his _zat_, then he aimed inside the van and fired again at the figure moving inside. The percussive sound of gunfire ripped through the night and Teal'C felt the wind of the projectile whiz past his head. Before he could turn, a _zat _sounded from behind him.

When the shot rang out, from the vicinity of behind the truck, Daniel curled himself around Chase and ducked down, almost beneath the front of the truck. He heard the truck door open and the sound of another _zat _being fired.

Jack had arrived as the gunfire started. Like an outlaw who roamed these lands 150 years ago, he fired the _zat _at an unseen gunman to his right, as he rode closer on the steel horse. As he got closer, he _zatted_ a man he saw in the open space between the van and the truck who had turned and fired his weapon at the ground at the front of the truck. He pulled the bike to a skidding halt and quickly dismounted. Sam continued to fire over the top of the cab from her perch in the driver's side door, while Jack ran to the front of the truck. He had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach because he knew that this is where Daniel had been. If either he or the boy had been shot…Jack quickly pushed the thought from his mind.

Liz had seen the man hand over her son to Daniel, then fire his gun at them. "Oh, my God, Chase!" she exclaimed in a hushed voice of fear. Disregarding the danger, she ran toward to them as their assailant fell to the ground from Jack's _zat_ blast. She arrived at Daniel's side as Jack did.

Jack and Liz exchanged looks of fear and desperation as the night suddenly fell silent.

"Daniel?" Jack placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

The younger man turned and looked at Jack. "He's alive. He slept through the whole thing."

Liz reached for Chase and Daniel handed the sleeping boy to his mother. Liz's eyes narrowed. "Who's bleeding?" she asked, steeling herself. "Oh, my god, Daniel, it's you!"

Daniel looked down at his arm, where she was gently moving the fabric. "I am?"

Jack moved to Daniel's injured side as Liz took Chase. She clutched her son and moved her hands from his legs to his back and his stomach, to double-check that he was not injured as well.

"Chase, honey. It's Mommy. Wake up, baby."

Jack looked at Daniel's arm. "It looks like it's just a scratch. Carter, call Janet and have some SFs escort her out here."

"Jack," Daniel frowned. "I don't need Janet ---"

"Are you sure you're not hit anywhere else?" Jack interrupted with frown, looking his friend over.

"I'm fine, Jack." Daniel insisted. "I didn't even know I'd been hit."

Jack nodded, tightly. "My point exactly."

"Daniel!" Liz's voice was laced with panic. "I can't get him to wake up!"

Daniel's eyes locked with Jack's for a brief instant and they both moved to her.

"We have a doctor on the way. Let's put him on the bed of the truck." Jack supplied. He stopped to get a small medic bag from the back of the truck as Liz carried Chase to the bed of the truck, where Teal'C lowered the tailgate for her to lay him. Daniel found a blanket and covered him as Jack began a field examination.

"Don't worry," Daniel spoke softly, putting his uninjured arm around Liz. "They probably gave him a sedative to keep him from resisting."

"There aren't any visible injuries or broken bones," Jack confirmed. "Daniel's probably right. Dr. Frasier will have him fixed up in no time."

"Janet's on her way," Sam said, putting her phone away.

Jack smiled at Daniel, then looked at Sam.

"Carter."

"Yes, sir?"

"Were you using my truck as cover? Did you get my truck shot?"

Sam smiled, sensing that he was teasing her. "Yes, sir." Then she frowned, as if doubting her earlier assessment. "Uh, I don't know, sir. If your truck got shot, that is. I did use it as cover, but I don't know if…"

Jack smiled. "Relax, Carter."

He turned to Teal'C who was standing looking at Liz with a frown. He looked at Liz and then back at Teal'C. "What's wrong, T?"

"I told her to wait by her vehicle. Yet, when the first shot was fired, she was behind me."

Jack tilted his head back. "Ah," he nodded. "I see. The civilian didn't follow your orders."

Teal'C inclined his head.

"Welcome to my world."

Daniel shot Jack a look over the rim of his glasses.

Dr. Janet Frazier arrived and went to work immediately. Daniel insisted that she look at Chase first and Liz smiled gratefully at him for it. Janet's big brown eyes smiled up at Liz when she finished examining the boy. "He's fine. Apparently, they gave him a mild sedative. He'll sleep it off in a few hours. If he's groggy or irritable at all tomorrow, take him to see his pediatrician. If you can't get in, call me and I'll come see him."

Tears sprang, unbidden, to Liz's eyes and she hugged the doctor. "Thank you!" she breathed, through her tears. "Thank you."

Janet pulled back and smiled at her. "You're welcome. Now let me check Daniel."

Liz nodded, emphatically. "Oh, please, do." She, then climbed up into the bed of the truck to hold Chase, while Daniel got the once over and a bandage on his arm.

Jack sent a couple of the SFs back to retrieve the man at the ATV, as well as the ATV itself. He also assigned a couple of them to gather up the rest of the downed kidnappers as he moved away to look down at the nearest man, the one he shot. When Carter arrived next to him with a plastic bag tie, he asked, softly. "Carter, does he look familiar?"

"Medrona, the Touchstone," she said, in a voice equally hushed. "He's one of the men who escaped."

Jack's lips set in a thin line. "I thought we got all these guys, already."

Sam frowned. "It could be that some of the rogue NID operatives were here when you captured Neumann and his team. This one is definitely one of the operatives from the Touchstone incident."

Jack frowned. "So, the NID was behind this. Sonofa…"

He looked back as Janet finished with Daniel's arm. "Carter, you go with these guys and Teal'C back to SGC. I'll be there shortly. Make sure no one, and I mean NO ONE goes near these guys until I get there."

Sam nodded. "Yes, sir."

Daniel insisted on driving Liz and Chase squeezed Jack's hand when he helped her into her SUV while she held Chase. "Thank you, Jack."

Jack nodded. "You're welcome," he said after a moment. "Take care."

She sniffled. "Daniel was right, you know. You are a good man."

Jack looked down and waved off the compliment. "Aw, Pah-shaw…" Then he smiled at her and closed the door. He turned and walked away from the SUV with his hands in his jacket pockets, walking with a purpose to Sam's motorcycle.


	6. Chapter 6

Liz awoke with a start. She looked at the Mickey Mouse clock on the wall to see the time was 8 am. She was lying in Chase's bed, but Chase was nowhere to be seen. She rolled out of the toddler bed and got up from her knees. She nearly ran out of the room, frantic that he wasn't there. "Chase!"

She heard a boyish giggle come from the area of the kitchen and followed the sound. She found Chase standing on a footstool next to Daniel. Chase was holding a measuring cup filled with batter and Daniel was flipping a pancake. Both her little man and Daniel seemed to be wearing quite a bit of pancake mix. She sighed in relief and went to the coffee pot.

"Mornin', Mommy!" Chase said, happily. "We're making pancakes!"

She smiled. "I see that." She looked at Daniel and he smiled at her.

"Like nothing ever happened," he commented.

Her smile widened. "I'm so glad." She moved to the table to watch them. "If only Mommy rebounded as quickly." She stretched and rubbed her back.

"What happened to your cheek, Mommy?" Chase frowned.

She raised her hand to her face and felt the tenderness. "Oh, Mommy ran into something."

Chase climbed down. "'Sokay, Mommy. I will be your Doctor. Daniel can't 'cause he's not a real doctor." He put a small, cool hand to her warm, bruised face. "You be okay and we'll make you a qu-mongish breakfast!" Chase's eyes were intent. "Okay? You drink your coffee and I will make you feel better!" Then Chase's eyes widened. "Oh, wait a minute. Hold on!" He ran out of the room.

She looked at Daniel. "You stayed all night?"

Daniel tilted his head. "Well, we didn't get here until almost four. It's eight, so I guess you can't really count that as staying all night. He woke up about an hour ago, full of energy, like he'd gotten a peaceful night of sleep all night in his own bed."

She nodded. "He's perfect," she said.

He smiled as Chase returned with a self-adhesive bandage that had a racecar on it and the tube of antibiotic ointment. Liz intercepted the ointment before he could open it. "Chase, I'm not bleeding, am I?"

"No, but you need medicine."

She leaned toward him. "I think a kiss would be the best medicine."

Chase smiled and gave his mother a sweet little kiss on the bruised cheek. Then he turned back to Daniel. "More pancake!"

Daniel repeated. "More pancake!"

The three of them spent the day together. Liz asked Daniel once about work, but he dismissed it. "I told Jack I'm not going in today. He called around six this morning. He's going to be spending the day interrogating the prisoners. I'd probably just get in the way."

That evening, Liz laughed until her sides ached when Chase insisted that Daniel give him his bath. Daniel ended up as wet as Chase, with bubbles in his hair and his glasses completely streaked. Liz, then, dried her little man and put him into his bed, holding him until he slept. Then she got herself up and moved into the living room, where Daniel was picking up cars.

"Oh, Daniel, just leave those. I'll pick them up in the morning."

He stood holding a red one. "This is the one he took to the picnic that first day."

She nodded. "You have a good memory."

He put it down on a nearby end table and looked at her.

She looked back at him. "Thank you…for everything."

He smiled. "My pleasure."

She moved to him quickly and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest. "I don't think I've ever been so afraid."

Daniel wrapped his arms around her. "Murray said he thought you were 'quite formidable.'"

She scoffed. "I thought he was mad that I hadn't followed his orders."

Daniel rested his cheek against her head. "I think he was impressed that you didn't. Not many people would defy him."

She sighed. "So is his name Teelk or Murray?" She suddenly felt Daniel tense. "Don't worry, he'll always be Murray to me," she hurried to assure him. "I'm sure it's all part of the non-disclosure thing I signed out there. Was it only this morning?" She felt him relax just a bit and sighed into his arms again and closed her eyes.

"Liz," he said after a minute.

"Hmm?"

"Look up, honey."

She pulled back slightly and looked up at him. "What is it?"

He looked down at her and touched her hair, then her cheek – the one that wasn't bruised – and ran his thumb across her lower lip. Her lips parted at his touch and he leaned down and touched his lips softly to hers.

She groaned deep in her throat and snaked her arms up around his neck, encouraging him to deepen the kiss.

When he broke the kiss, he searched her face and she smiled at him.

"What do you want for breakfast?" She asked softly, looking at him with hooded eyes.

He smiled. "I'm not sure, maybe I should sleep on it."

She blushed as she said. "If sleep is what you want, go back to your place." Then she took his hand and led him into her room.

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"WHAT!" Jack looked furiously across the table at Daniel, willing his friend to give voice to his outrage at the news General George Hammond, whose face was red – never a good sign – had just delivered.

Daniel looked at Hammond with his eyebrows drawn together in anger that reflected his friend's. "What do you mean, the NID wants us to release these people to them?"

"Sir," Sam spoke, in disbelief. "You can't possibly be considering –."

"If those NID bastards get their mitts on these guys, they'll be out terrorizing women and children again in a week," Jack ground out. "Absolutely not!"

Hammond frowned at the younger man. "Colonel, don't you think I know that? I've got a call into the President right now, but the NID says that because there was no police involvement, it is well within their jurisdiction to punish their own agents."

"And did they explain why these guys wanted _naquada_?" Sam asked.

"General, there's no way I can go back and tell Elizabeth McReynolds that the men that kidnapped her son are going to go free because of interdepartmental politics. Now, what they did was wrong and they need to be punished. At least one of them was military before, can't he, at the very least, be court-martialed?"

"That would be up to the NID." Hammond frowned. "Frankly, we acted outside our jurisdiction as far as the apprehension of these men."

"Does not the fact that they contacted DanielJackson in his office and the fact that they demanded _naquada_ not currency, put it within our jurisdiction?"

"Yes, Teal'C as far as the _naquada_ is concerned, but not the kidnapping charges. We can charge them with attempting to steal a chemical weapon, but the NID is insisting they handle it."

"Military tribunal." Sam said, suddenly.

Hammond frowned. "We are not at war with the NID."

"Feels like it," Jack muttered.

Sam glanced at him and then back to Hammond. "I know, sir, but we do consider ourselves at war with the Goa'uld. How do we know that they wanted the naquada for the NID? They haven't said so. They may have wanted to acquire it for a Goa'uld."

"To what end, MajorCarter?" Teal'C regarded her, closely. "The Goa'uld have ample sources of _naquada_."

"True, but how do we know that these men weren't trying to get it for use by the enemy? And they did attack a civilian – Liz looked pretty beaten up to me – and used Chase as a human shield. Those qualify as war crimes as far as I know." She looked at Hammond. "I know it's reaching, sir, but we can't just let them go."

Hammond looked at her, then to Jack who gave his best "sounds good to me" face, then to Daniel and Teal'C. "I don't think it will work, but it may give the President enough pause to keep them out of NID hands." He stood, prompting Jack and Sam to stand also. "Dismissed."

Jack looked over at Daniel who was still frowning. "Don't worry, Danny, he'll find a way."

Daniel looked up and nodded.

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Daniel was unlocking his door, when Liz's door opened.

"Daniel," she said, quietly. "Can we talk?"

He scrutinized her face and saw apprehension and sadness there.

"Sure, Liz," he smiled, hoping to put her at ease. "What is it?"

She looked down at her hands. "Chase and I are moving."

"What!"

She looked up at him. "Can we go inside?" She motioned to his door.

He looked at his open door, then to her. "Where's Chase?"

"He's at school, still," she said referring to his private Pre-K classes.

Daniel nodded and moved inside, and she followed. She went to the sliding glass doors and looked out.

"What is this about, Liz?"

"It's about me, Daniel. After the other night, I started thinking. I can't do it."

Daniel moved to her and took her arms in his hands.

Instead of moving away, she sighed and ducked her head. Then she did move. She turned to look at him. "I really have thought this through. I'm sorry, Daniel. I – The other night shouldn't have happened. I tried for so long to keep it from happening. I kept telling myself that you love your work and you work on that mountain. It was enough to keep you at arms length. I shouldn't have given in."

Daniel smiled, softly. "You've wanted…for a while?"

She grinned. "Oh, since the first time you played tag with my son and didn't try anything later."

Daniel moved to her again. "Then why --?"

She crossed her arms against her chest and looked down. "You do some dangerous work…"

He groaned and moved away. "It's because they thought Chase was my son."

She shook her head, quickly. "No. No, that's not it. Murray even pointed out how easy that mistake was to make. I didn't realize it until then, but Chase _could_ be your son as far as looks go."

She sighed. "I'm not doing this very well. It's entirely me, Daniel. I can't handle being involved with someone who might not come home from his job because of his job."

He looked at her and saw the pain in her eyes. "I loved Mike. And I loved him enough to be with him even though I knew his job was dangerous. I never thought of asking him to go to another unit, because he was doing what made him happy. Then he died."

"But – "

"Don't say you're not Mike, because I know that. God, you're nothing like him! Maybe that's what I found so appealing – in addition to the way you are with Chase." She shook her head. "But you have a dangerous job. You have job you may not come home from. I may not know the ins and outs of it, but I know that much. And you love your job." She straightened. "I can't handle the thought that you may not come home one day. And I would never ask you to give up your job for us. I'm not that kind of person. I'm glad you're doing something that makes you happy, but I can't live with it."

"But you could get hurt at your job."

She smiled. "True, but the dangers of my job are more of the paper cut variety. You have phasers that kill on the second shot."

Daniel couldn't help a small smile as she reminded him of Jack then.

She looked at him, intently. "Please understand, Daniel. I can't go through it again. And I won't take the chance of putting Chase through that. I'm sorry."

Daniel looked at her, really looked at her, and saw that her mind would not be swayed. Then he thought of the possibility that the NID could get custody of their own agents and, possibly release them, a fact he'd never told her. He had no right to try to change her mind, knowing they might come back. He nodded. "Where will you go?"

"I have family in Chicago. We'll go there and I'll get a job in the civilian sector. I don't want to live my life alone and, after seeing Chase with you, I know he needs a positive male role model in his life. I wish it could be you, but it can't be anyone associated with the military. So I won't work for the military anymore."

Daniel moved closer to her. "I will miss you and Chase."

Tears sprang to her eyes. "We'll miss you too. I'm so sorry."

He smiled softly at her and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Don't be, Liz," he said, softly. He tilted her head up and kissed her softly.

When they parted, she stepped back, then turned quickly and left.

It wasn't too long after that Daniel called Jack and told him that he was coming over. He wanted a drink, but didn't want to drink alone. Of all the people in the universe, he knew Jack would understand.

As he locked the door to his condo, he could hear the strains of Travis Tritt from his neighbor's apartment and paused. He listened to the lyrics of the end of the song, frowned down at his keys and walked away with the last notes of the chorus following him as he went:

"_Yes, I love you more than you'll ever know."_

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A/N: Travis Tritt's music: "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'" (with Marty Stuart) and "Homesick" are from _It's All About To Change_, 1991, Warner Brothers Records. "More Than You'll Ever Know" is from _The Restless Kind_, 1996, Warner Brothers Records. No copyright infringement is meant, just homage to some really good music.

"The female of the species is more deadly than the male" is a quote from Rudyard Kipling's poem _The Female of the Species_.

_Angels & Demons_ is by Dan Brown. Again, no ownership is implied. Just a small nod to a really good book and author.

A very special thanks to my Beta-From-Heaven, taylyn10, who keeps me on my toes and nags me to finish…Warm hugs, Beta-Angel.

Also, thanks goes to Marcia for her categorizing help and red ink as well.


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